


Ghosts In His Head

by idrilhadhafang



Series: The Broken Edge Deleted, Extended and Missing Scenes [30]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben has nightmares, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Nightmares, Past Torture, Poe Dameron Needs A Hug, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 19:19:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11996298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Ben has nightmares.





	Ghosts In His Head

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Wild Card -- Ghost 
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

 

\-- _screaming down the hall --_

_\-- dueling Lisaris, lightsaber blades locked in combat --_

_\-- Thomas, bleeding out on the floor from the torture --_

It's in this moment that Ben jolts awake, gasping for breath, and Poe's voice stirs him back to reality. "It's all right, Ben, you're safe. You're not in that room."

Ben swallows. It's either a side-effect of the bond they've just opened or Poe just being used to his nightmares by now (as much as Poe's own), but Poe seems to know exactly what Ben was dreaming about. Across their link, Ben can feel residuals of Poe's own nightmare -- the torture, the beatings. He reaches over towards Poe, draws him in close, quietly trying to reassure him. Poe deserves as much.

"It was Thomas, wasn't it?" Poe's voice is gentle all the while.

"Yes." Ben's voice cracks; it's gotten worse since Lisaris escaped from Nar Shaddaa. He can feel his failure all but bearing down on him. He could have done more, he truly could have, and yet all he did was just good as set Lisaris on the galaxy.

"Turn on the light," he says. "Please."

Poe does, and Ben can see his surroundings more clearly. The model X-wings that Poe hasn't gotten rid of, and Ben's glad for that -- to get rid of them would be to get rid of a part of the man that Ben fell in love with. Without those parts, Poe wouldn't be Poe, and he wouldn't be the same man that Ben adores with all his being.

Another detail that brings Ben back to reality is the holos on the wall that Poe's kept all these years. All over the years, from when he and Poe were younglings up to the present day.

"Better?" Poe says.

Ben nods. "I can see more clearly. It's like..." He swallows. Thomas is like a ghost for him, and not like a Force ghost that can at least provide comfort and advice. It's instead a reminder of his own failure. "I know where I am."

"I know," Poe says. "I have them too."

"Poe..." Ben turns to look at him, touches his face. "You shouldn't have nightmares."

"Neither should you."

"Is it...possible, possible at all actually, to wish for better nightmares?"

Poe's hand strokes his hair, letting Ben fall into a more content state, comforted by Poe's touch. "I wish it was. I'd give them to you in a heartbeat."

"I would give them to you too."

Ben settles into his embrace, his eyes closing even as Poe hums to him, strokes his hair. His eyes close, and for the moment, he's safe, he's loved by Poe, and that's enough.

 

 

 

 


End file.
